The Fire Spirit
by emilyfearsnothing
Summary: Katara is the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. She needs to escape, before something could happen to her. Someone comes to help. They have a secret... Zutara fanfiction - doesn't happen right away... be patient! :) My first fanfic- I'm not perfect! Rated T for later chapters.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. It belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Nickelodeon. **

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Prologue

No one had ever imagined that the Fire Nation was capable of wiping out a whole other empire. They obliterated the Air Nomads, in all four temples. There were no survivors. Not even the Avatar, a boy of thirteen, who was killed in the Avatar State, eliminating the Avatar's spirit from the world forever. Nothing was left. After the extinction of the airbenders, and the Avatar, the people of the world lost hope of living in peace ever again. The Fire Nation had started what seemed to be an endless war. Nothing would stand in their way.

Many months later, the Fire Nation had invaded the Southern Water tribe, siezing control over the whole South Pole, and killing off all of the waterbenders. But little did they know that they missed just one.

My name is Katara, and I am the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe.

My people's hope has been crushed under the rule of the tyrannical Fire Nation. What once was a huge, populated utopia, became a lonely, broken land. I was just a small girl when my mother was believed to be the last waterbender of our tribe, and killed by a firebender general who was in charge of our section of the South Pole. Now, the only family I have left are my brother and father.

My bending ability is the last thing I want to have. It means that I could be executed for being a bender of water at any time. My life is at risk every minute of every day. I know I shouldn't be doing it, but I practice my skills every night in my home. I feel like there are no walls to box me in, no guards to push me and my people around, and especially, no evil Fire Nation to destroy our world where everyone used to live in harmony. I feel like if I practice hard enough, I might really be able to make a difference in this war. That is why I waterbend. It is not just a special talent, it is my identity. And no one can take that away from me. Not the guards, not the Fire Nation. Nothing will rob me of my identity.

My name is Katara, and I am a waterbender.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Hi, I forgot to put a note on the Prologue, but I guess i really didnt need to say anything except for R&R and all that stuff. So, how did I do? For a first Fanfiction I feel pretty good about it. Ah who cares what I say? On with the fanfiction!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Property of Michael Dante DiMartino, Brian Konietzko, and Nickelodeon. **

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Chapter 1: Anxious

In the dark of night, in my family's small igloo, I worked on improving a waterbending skill I taught myself. It's called streaming the water. It seems easier than it looks but I beg to differ. It requires all of my energy, strength, and concentration. So much for easy.

Sokka, my brother, apparently hears me and wakes up. He stares me down with a worried look on his face. He doesn't even have to say that I am putting our lives in danger by bending. I know that. We both know that I won't listen and that I don't care so he doesn't say anything. Eventually, he drifts off again but I feel like I had enough, trudged to my bed, and fell asleep.

###

The next day, I went to my school along with Sokka. We recited the Fire Nation Oath and sat down to begin the daily tiresome lecture on how the "great and almighty" Fire Nation kindly let us keep our land and how generous they were not to incinerate us. How they are _ever_ so generous and patient to teach us peasants who, apparently, never listen anyways because we can't understand a word anyone ever says.

Sometimes I catch myself absentmindedly waterbending in the middle of class, and I have to constantly remind myself that I am not part of a free tribe anymore, I am a prisoner of the wretched Fire Nation. I can't just bend for fun. I have to watch my back. The worst part is that the guards get bored when there is no action around and will hurt someone for no reason. Isn't that wonderful?

When school is over, I walk the way home with Sokka. He seems tense for some reason. Before I can ask what's wrong, he blurts out, "Do you think that you'll ever get caught?"

I stare at him. "What?" I have no clue what he is talking about. "Waterbending, I mean. Do you think that you'll ever get caught?" he explains a little more. "You must be joking, right?" I ask. "Surely you don't expect one of those _oafs_ to find me bending, do you? That's ridiculous!" Sokka gives me that same look as last night. "I just don't want anything to happen to you. You're my little sister and I will protect you forever, you know that."

He pulls me into a hug and I can't help but feel now that I COULD be discovered as a bender, and then I would be gone.

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**A/N: **Yay, so here we are. Chapter 1 already :). I'm in a writing mood... At 12am! Im sorry if the chapters are short. They will get better! :) Please R&R and tell me how I'm doing! Goodnight!


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Still posting... At what, 3am? Talk about weird. :) anyway, this chapter is a flashback of when Katara and Sokka's mother died. It might be a little more violent than I expected, hence the T rating. :) enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Property of Michael Dante DiMartino, Brian Konietzko, and Nickelodeon. **

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Chapter 2: Painful Memory

I'm running. Running as fast as my little legs can carry me. Through the snow and fighting men. Through the bodies and people screaming battle cries. The Fire Nation had closed in on the south pole. I ran to my igloo, to my mother. "Mom!" I screamed. "Mom! Mom!" But when I bursted into my igloo, to my horror, she wasn't alone.

There was a Fire Nation soldier standing right in front of her.

He towered over my mother, clad in jet black armor with gold and red accents on the edges. His helmet reminded me of a sea raven. It was pointy and the sides looked like bird's wings. He had a murderous stare that almost made me want to curl up into a ball when he turned around to glare at me. I tried to run but he snagged the collar of my coat with his claw-like hands.

"Where do you think you're going little one?" he snarled. His voice was deep and menacing, like someone you know not to mess with. "Is something wrong?" I sneak a quick, worried glance at my mother. She looks at me, the expression on her face looks as though she had just been shot, completely terrified.

The man doesn't miss the exchange. "You mother is a very bad girl," he says, looking down at me with a devilish grin. "It's time that someone punishes her for what she's done."

All I say is, "What?" and everything happens so fast. My mother springs up and punches the soldier, square in the jaw. While the soldier is clutching his face she scoops me up and full-out sprints out the door. The soldier is quick to recover and runs out of the igloo and chases after us. With a swift jump, he grabs onto my mother, and pulls us down. He rips my mother away from me and yells, "You will suffer for that! BOTH of you!"

"STOP!" my mother pleads. "Wait," her look is desperate as she begs the soldier. "Please, leave her alone. Just take me," she said, holding out her wrists. "Take me as your prisoner." The man looked from my mother to me, and back to her again. "I'm afraid I'm not taking prisoners today," he sneers and with a quick, fluid movement, he cut her down right in front of my eyes. She made a noise between a piercing scream and a cry before she falls down on the icy tundra. "NO!" I bawled and collapsed onto the ground. "Mommy! Mommy! You have to wake up! Mommy!" But it was too late. My mother was gone. Forever.

I woke up abruptly in my bed. My pillow was wet with tears. I buried my head in it again, and continued to cry silently into my pillow.

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**A/N: **Well, that was actually not as bad as I thought it would sound but... yeah. Again, another short chapter, I know, I know Im workin' on it. Also, I know these chapters seem uneccesary but trust me, they will be important! It's part of developing the story! Anyway, R&R And see you soon!


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: **This is probably the fastest i will ever update chapters so, every other one will be maybe 2-3 weeks apart. Okay, here goes the chapters where they start to mean something and get the story in motion and shtuff :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Property of Michael Dante DiMartino, Brian Konietzko, and Nickelodeon. **

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Chapter 3: Discovered

There is sweat plastered to my forehead from my nightmare the night before. I woke up screaming and I felt a hand clasp over my mouth. It was Sokka. That was both good and bad. It was good because it was my brother. The bad part was the exact same thing. He makes such a big deal about everything since..., since our mother died. After a long lecture from Sokka of how I should seriously tape something over my mouth and dream about something nice for a change, I go out of my igloo to the side if the schoolhouse to relax. I lean against the back of the building. To relax myself, I massage my temples and try to take Sokka's for once and think about something nice.

Then, suddenly and unexpectedly, my mind and vision blank. I see myself running from angry Fire Nation soldiers. I see a shadowed figure in my doorway and a note on my bed. It's dark outside. I see my brother tearing the note up with tears in his eyes and an expression of extreme anger and pain on his face. I see me being held in a stranger's arms, their face covered by shadows, running on a frozen plain somewhere unknown to me. The last thing I hear from the vision is a ear-piercing screech, a sound that hasn't been heard in hundreds of years, from an animal that shouldn't exist.

The vision disappears just as fast as it came and I find myself on the ground, my back against the wall of the school. the vision troubled me. Legends from Southern Water Tribe elders say that only a waterbender of high talents and skills can see these visions. The image could appear from any time in any place. Why me? Im not a skilled bender. Never mind about that. For all I knew the vision could be happening right now. I had to get back to Dad and Sokka.

As soon as I got home, I ran around the house calling desperately, "SOKKA! DAD! Where are you?" Sokka came out of his bedroom looking annoyed. "What are you ranting about? Dad went 'shopping' and won't be back 'till sunset." ("Shopping" meant he went secretly hunting to trade at the black market in Sokka Language)."Never mind that," I said. "Something weird just happened and I don't know if it's good or not," Sokka stares at me. His face turns serious and he nods. "What happened?" he asked, clearly concerned now.

"I... I had a vision," I stated plainly. "I don't know what it was about. There were Fire Nation soldiers chasing me and a note on my bed that you tore up, someone carrying me away and... I thought I heard a _dragon_."

I gulped. He probably thought I was going insane. Which, I suppose, is a pretty logical explanation, considering that I screamed in my sleep a lot more than I was little, and waterbended absentmindedly whenever I had nothing better to do, potentially soaking Sokka in the process. Suddenly, I don't want to hear his response. I'm pretty sure I know what it will be anyway. "Katara, you're insane. You should rest and leave it be" he says. I turn and bolt out of the house. I knew it. Just what he says about every other time.

I don't really have any place to go so I just walk around the village. While thinking about how I should tell Dad about the vision, before Sokka tells him, I notice I am waterbending in the middle of plain sight. I am so stupid! I quickly turn the ice to daggers and shoot them into the ground with a satisfying but way to loud CRACK. Looking up, I discover, to my absolute horror, that I caught the attention of three Fire Nation soldiers who patrol the streets. "WATERBENDER!" one of them shouts and sprints towards me.

My life is over. The rest seem to get the idea and run at me to close me off from any means of escape, fire coating their hands. Thinking fast, I pull the water from the ground and lash out at all three of them, hoping it will do anything. To my answered prayers, it knocks two down and I run through the opening, away from the third guard. He launches a fireball at me which I quickly dodge and disappear down an alley. Once I lost him, I sprinted as fast as I could to home, not letting anyone see me.

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I get home and run to my room. I realize now what I have to do. I have to get out of here, unless I want to end up like the rest of the waterbenders found, plus my mother. I pack a bunch of clothes in my knapsack and begin to write a note:

_Dear family,_

_-I know this is so sudden, I was so stupid and not thinking about my actions, but I'm leaving. If I stay, I will end up like Mom. My vision is coming true. I don't know how or why. I love you and will miss you, but this is for our own good. I believe this is my destiny. I'll miss you until I see you again... Because goodbye is too much to say._

_-Katara_

With tears in my eyes, I placed the note on my bed. My vision is real. And if that's true, I really need to escape.

I turn to leave and stop in my tracks. There is someone standing at the door. It can't Be Sokka or Dad. They are already asleep. I realize that this is the stranger from my vision. Their face is covered in shadows as they start to walk towards me.

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**A/N: **Yay! Chapter 3 complete :) I don't have much more to say... Haha. Well, see you soon guys! :D Did you know that the review boxes look cool if there are words in it? *hint hint* ;D


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Ok, remember what I said last time about the 2-3 week span between chapters? Well forget about it for this chapter! I just got my first review from **Kira48** and I just had to do it for her so AHAHAHA here we go :) I'm gonna post review responses here too.

**Kira48: **Here you go! I just can't say no to my first reviewer! :3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Property of Michael Dante DiMartino, Brian Konietzko, and Nickelodeon. **

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Chapter 4: Taken in the Night

"Who are you?" I demanded. "What do you want from me?" The stranger still walked towards me. "I know you saw me before. Visions come and go all the time," He said. What's _that_ supposed to mean? You can hear that the stranger is a he in his voice. It is raspy but commanding and strong. That is definitely NOT Dad or Sokka. How does he know about about my vision? "Wha- who are you?" I questioned him.

"If you are referring to me as some sort of creature, then you should reconsider your thoughts. I am here to get you out of this place. I know what's happened. I know _everything_," he said. He loomed over me and I realized I was still sitting on the bed.

Snapping out of my trance, I sprung up and shifted into a fighting stance. The stranger was startled by the sudden movement, and backed off a bit and held up his hands in a surrendering position. "As I said before, I'm not here as a threat. That's the soldiers' jobs," he said in a low growl. He took a step towards me. "How do YOU know about MY vision? If you would stop stalling and being a coward why don't you show me your face? I ought to know what my attacker looks like," I said, sounding far more confident than I was. I wasn't going to let someone kidnap me. At least, without seeing their face.

He chuckled, an odd hint of amusement in his voice that seemed out of place, considering the current situation. "As I have explained, I am not a threat. You seem so very curious about everything. You remind me of myself." he said, and stepped out of the shadows. At once I knew why he had hid himself. If he was handsome I couldn't tell, because a large, red scar surrounded his left eye. His expression was blank, yet his lips were twitched up in a smirk, humoring my curiosity. The feature that captured my focus the most were his eyes, that looked like pure melted gold. The intensity of his gaze held me where I was, our eyes locked for just a millisecond but felt like an eternity. The color pierces through messy, jet-black hair that brushes across his eyes, partially concealing his scar. We both sized each other up, and I wondered if it was worth attacking him. He had a strong build, large shoulders, and strong arms. The way he held himself made him look rock solid, but his skin was so pale, it looked like you could blow him away with a simple sneeze.

Noticing that I am staring, his face morphed into an irritated expression and with a twinge of disgust in his voice, he said. "Disappointed?" I was taken aback by his statement. "What do you mean?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow, or more like his only eyebrow. "What I mean is are you disappointed with what you see? Expecting some lovely, handsome man in shining armor, to come and rescue you?" He looked like he was abut to laugh, but instead his eyes turned ice cold, and he crossed his arms and his expression turned pained like what he had said brought back terrible memories. I tried to formulate a response but the only thing that came out of my mouth was, "No?", afraid of what he would say. The cold glint in his eyes faded, and he looked somewhat calmer. "Life isn't perfect, you learn to evade trouble and get out of the way of any threat, yet I still don't understand how you managed to get yourself caught waterbending in plain sight," he said. "It doesn't seem... _like_ you."

"Well, I have some kind of thing where I do things absentmindedly and don't realize I'm doing it until, I don't know," I responded, feeling embarrassed. "Why is it that you have no respect for anyone's privacy and just walk into my house when everyone is asleep?" I shot back. He scoffed. "I tried to explain, I am here to help you. Whether you want it or not." I heard heavy footsteps outside the house and the clinking of chains.

Firebenders. They knew what I was and they were coming to get me. I knew I had to get out. Before it was too late. I moved past the stranger to grab my bag.

All of the sudden, the door smashed open, and almost a dozen firebenders bursted in. "Get her!" one called out to the others. Ten of them ran towards me, and before I had the chance to fight back, someone grabbed me and sprinted towards the window, carrying me out with them. I looked up and it was the stranger. He jumped through the window, and then, almost as fast as the wind, he bolted away from the village.

His speed seemed too fast to be human, he was also far too graceful. After a few minutes of him carrying me, he slowed down and put me down. The village was nowhere to be seen. "What was that?" I yelled at him. "Now look where we are! In the middle of the cold, dark, snowy nowhere!" I glared at the stranger. He looked back at me, clearly annoyed. "If I recall correctly, I think I just saved your life a few minutes ago. You're welcome, _Katara_." he said, and with a swift turn, he started walking away from me. "Hey!" I called and ran after him. "Wait! How in Agni's name do you know _my_ name? You aren't just going to leave me here, are you?" I asked. He stopped and gestured at a small igloo that stood in front of him. "No," he stated and walked inside. Was that there before? Oh whatever, it's shelter nonetheless. When I stepped inside, it was suddenly warm and comforting. There was a fire pit in the center of the room that gave off all of the heat. I sat down on the floor by the fire. The stranger joined me.

"I'm sorry about that," he said. "For the whole kidnapping thing," he said. "It's ok" I reassured him. For once, I felt grateful. "I'm sure there was good reason behind it. By the way, I never got to learn your name." If I was going to travel with him, until I got back home, I at least needed to know his name.

"Zuko," he said. "My name is Zuko." he looked up at me.

I smiled. "Nice to meet you, _Zuko_."

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**A/N: **There we go, the first "action" chapter. I hope you are enjoying the Fanfic so far! I also have an Instagram account that posts the story too, if you want to see the cover pages of the chapters I account is zutara_spiritlove (pretty cheesy lol) but yeah, if you're interested. Thank you for the numerous follows I got and I appreciate all of your support! Until next time! :) ASDFGHJKL; I made fixes in the beginning if the chapter, sorry if you didn't get it. It's better now though :)


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Hello! My friends! :D This will be your holiday gift. And yes, it took a little longer than expected, because writer's block is a nightmare. So here is chapter 5!

**AreiaCananaid:** Your question will be answered here. :)

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. Property of Michael Dante DiMartino, Brian Konietzko, and Nickelodeon.**

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Chapter 5: Shadows

That night I couldn't sleep. I looked outside the opening of the igloo and saw the beautiful full moon, floating above the clouds. I heard a rustling behind me and turned around. Zuko was there.

"Can't sleep?" he asked. "No," I said. "Whenever the moon is full, I can never seem to sleep or even relax. I feel too awake and powerful. It's strange," It made me nervous. Whenever I would try to sleep during a full moon, I would find myself staying awake for the duration of the night. I would wake up the next morning, exhausted. "Waterbenders draw their power from the moon," Zuko explained. "When there is a full moon, that is when waterbenders are at their peak. That is when they are most powerful. They can perform astonishing techniques, and are virtually unstoppable in battle." I was amazed. "How do you know that much about waterbenders? You don't seem like the waterbending type. Also your eyes are gold, not blue like waterbenders' eyes."

He shrugged. "Someone once told me that you should have knowledge of the four elements and the four nations. They can make you whole," Zuko said. He put a hand on my shoulder. "You need to try and sleep. I know it's hard, but you have a long day ahead of you. You'll need all of your strength," he advised. I found this oddly reassuring and comforting, even though i just met him hours ago. So I took his advice and tried to go to sleep.

I awoke on the floor of the strange igloo that I was carried to the night before. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. The igloo was nothing special. There was just a few fur pelts on the floor and a small fire pit in the middle. The dark shadow of Zuko sat by the fire.

"Good morning," He greeted me. I looked outside. It was very early. The sun hadn't even completely risen yet. "How long have you been awake?" I inquired. "A while," he replied. "What were you doing up that early?" I asked. "Just as you rise with the moon, I rise with the sun," he explained. That was the only conversation we had that morning. I could tell he wasn't a person who liked talking. He said earlier that he "likes to have people talk for him". It doesn't matter to me though. I don't like talking too much either, at least, around strangers.

Some time after that, Zuko stood up. "Let's go," he said. "What? Where to? There is nothing for miles around," I inquired. He stood up. "Just come on," he ordered and walked out. I followed him.

Zuko took a whistle from his pocket that was shaped like a dragon head. He took a deep breath and blew into the whistle. I covered my ears, expecting a loud, shrill sound. Instead, there was just a quiet, airy noise, barely audible to me. "I think your whistle is broken," I said, practically smirking. "No," Zuko said as he turned to face me. "It's not." I waited for a second, then asked, "Then what does it do?"

My question was answered with an ear-piercing screech, exactly like the one from my vision. "What? There's no way..." I gasped. A huge, monstrous creature flew in out of nowhere and landed on the ground before me. "A- a DRAGON?" I said, astonished. Zuko seemed unfazed by the dragon's appearance, and began to walk towards the thing.

It was a massive creature with a huge head and an even bigger wingspan. Its body and head were all red, with golden eyes, kind of like Zuko's but not nearly as radiant. On the top of its head was the crown jewel, literally. A huge, glowing white orb was embedded in the giant's head, and white light glowed from it.

The dragon gave an affectionate nudge to Zuko and he stroked it in return. "Katara, meet Feng, my dragon," he said, a hand on the back of his neck. All I could do was gape at the huge creature before me who's kind was said to have disappeared hundreds of years ago. "You have, a _dragon_? What else can you do? Got any more tricks up your sleeve?"

A dragon? How insane is this getting to be? Zuko jumped on Feng's back. "Get on," he said, and held out a hand.

"I can't believe I trust you," I said, after a moment, and grabbed his hand. Once I got on, Feng took off, away from the little igloo that I suddenly longed for. I looked back and it was gone. "Hey! Where did the igloo go?" I inquired. "Must you ask so many questions?" he smirked and we flew up into the clouds. "Hey! We're going in the exact opposite direction of my tribe!" I noticed. "We have to turn around!" I said. Even out here it was painfully obvious that he was going in the wrong direction. "Didn't you figure it out yet?" Zuko asked. "You can't go back to your home, unless you want to get caught by firebenders," he reasoned. "We're taking you to the Northern Water Tribe, to master your bending."

I couldn't believe it. I wasn't going home. I was going to my sister tribe. We hadn't communicated with each other in decades. Part of me was thrilled to learn waterbending the right way, but part of me was worried for my family. They can't lose another family member, adding on to mother's death. There was nothing I could do now, and realizing how tired I was from the previous night, I drifted off to a small nap with dreams of flying dragons, and learning to waterbend. Meanwhile, I am floating on a dragon, leaning on a person I just met.

Everything was perfectly normal.

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The man with the shadow walked up to the man in the blue burning throne. He knelt before the throne.

"Sir, the spirit has strayed from our planned path. Shall I terminate?" the shadowed man asked.

"Yes," the man in the throne commanded. "You must be patient. Put him back on the path we have planned. Destroy him," he said, his cold voice turning the air icy cold. The shadowed man rose. "Take the form of the girl's kind, my subject, let the moon's energy course through your veins," the man atop the throne said. "Now go, for they head for the tribe as we speak." The man in the shadows bowed, and glided out of the room to execute his plan.

"End his existence, my cunning assassin. Make him pay," the man on the throne said as he watched the shadowed man disappear.

"Make him pay."

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**A/N: **I love you guys! Happy holidays and R&R! :) Happy New year!


	7. Author's note (sorry)

**Attention readers:** As you have noticed, this story has not been added on to in well... **A WHILE**. I have not been as motivated as I was in weeks prior to the most recent chapter. I will try to make a next chapter for you all but if I am unable to, I am going to have to stop. So, until further notice, this story will be **discontinued**. _Thank you for your patience. _

-Emilyfearsnothing


	8. ATTENTION READERS

**Attention Readers:**

**The Fire Spirit story has been cancelled. **

**I just can't think of anything and haven't had any time or probably will not have any time to continue this story. **

**I apologize for the trouble and hope your day isn't as bad as mine.**

**-EFN**


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